


Stay

by HannaM



Category: Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Genre: F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-25
Updated: 2013-01-25
Packaged: 2017-11-26 19:50:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/653816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HannaM/pseuds/HannaM
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Malon cares, and that makes all the difference.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stay

There is a lot more music now that Ganondorf is gone.

Zelda keeps the ocarina locked away, but she loves to listen to others sing and play. The men working to rebuild Hyrule Castle Town whistle while they work, and after a long day, it's wondrous to watch the remaining citizens dance.

Malon comes in from Lon Lon Ranch to deliver the milk, and to gossip about the goings on. Zelda wishes fervently that the redhead would stop wondering where "fairy boy" had gotten to, but she hasn't the heart to say anything about it. 

"This must be strange for you," Malon says one day when they're in Kakariko, wrangling cuccos. 

"What do you mean?"

"Catching cuccos?" Malon giggles. "It's not exactly work for a princess. No one would blame you if you didn't want to do it- we're all just so happy you're alive at all!"

"What else should I do?" Zelda asks. Her tone is even, but there's great bitterness behind it. Her entire life before Ganondorf is gone without recall. There are things that are better about it now, but she still misses the castle she grew up in, the food that took more than five minutes to prepare, and, of course, her father. No amount of tampering with time will bring him back.

"I don't know," Malon admits. 

That night, Zelda plays the harp while Malon sings to the horses (one horse in particular keeps nudging at her hand). 

"You're very good," Malon says approvingly. "Epona likes you almost as much as she used to like fairy boy."

Zelda suppresses a pang. "I've heard this song before. You used to sing outside the castle at night, sometimes."

Malon's mouth spreads in a delighted grin. "I did! I never thought you could hear me."

"It was nice." _Almost like having a friend._

Zelda half-heartedly protests when Malon insists it's too dark for her to go back to Kakariko unaccompanied ("It's dangerous to go alone!") but Talon is already asleep, and there's nothing for her to hurry back to. 

Malon strips down for bed unashamedly, while Zelda fiddles with her own clothing. She's so used to her body being a secret, it feels downright unnatural to undress in front of someone who isn't Impa. 

"Is there a nightgown I could borrow?" she asks, holding her clothes in front of her breasts. 

The farm girl tilts her head in confusion. "Nightgown? You sleep in clothes?"

"Oh." Zelda feels her face begin to burn, and turns away. 

Malon's voice is soft. "Hey, it's all right. You can just take one of my regular shirts."

The bed is warm, but Malon is warmer. She curls up and rests her head on Zelda's shoulder. "I want to know everything about you," the redhead whispers. "Why you're always working but won't let anyone thank you. Where you've been hidden the last seven years-"

Somehow, it's easier to confess in the dark. "I wasn't hidden- I was in disguise. And nothing I do can ever make up for my failing Hyrule when it needed me most."

"You were a child," Malon's voice sounds indignant. "There was nothing you could have done. I couldn't stop Ingo from throwing my father out either."

Zelda realizes that she's upsetting her bed partner. "I'm sorry. I'm not very good at accepting gratitude."

"But we all love you so much."

Perhaps it's because she's played the androgynous hero for seven years- perhaps because Malon sounds sad and distant, and in need of comfort. In any event, Zelda cups Malon's chin and kisses her with deep affection.

Malon's arms wrap around her, nails digging into Zelda's back as if she's being saved from drowning. The softness of her skin is a surprise against Zelda's callused fingers (but of course, Malon's never had to pull a tektite's pincer out of her shoulder and clumsily bandage the wound- and for that, Zelda is grateful).

At some point it passes from platonic comfort to a need for something more- Malon's hips feel deeply satisfying against Zelda's, and though her caresses have more enthusiasm than finesse, it's the feeling behind them that makes her smile.

Afterwards, Malon sings her to sleep, and Zelda drifts away with something like happiness budding inside her.


End file.
